This article examines the ongoing curriculum wars in reading and mathematics education. It presents an overview of an edited book that emanated from a conference held at Harvard University titled Curriculum Wars: Alternative Approaches to Reading and Mathematics. With the historical view in mind, the article summarizes key points of agreement and conflict in an effort to say clearly why the conflict is so difficult to resolve. In addition, these curriculum conflicts are reexamined from the perspective of the globalization of contemporary social and economic processes. The article concludes with an acknowledgment that it is unlikely that curriculum conflicts will end any time soon.
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